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Opinion

Is Rohit Sharma serious about Test cricket?

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Roar Guru
25th November, 2020
19

After weeks of speculation, Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of India’s first two Tests against Australia next month.

So how did it get to this position?

October 18, 2020
Rohit injures his hamstring in Mumbai Indians’ super over loss to Kings XI Punjab.

October 23, 2020
Mumbai Indians release a statement, stating that Rohit’s recovery process is being monitored alongside the consultancy of the BCCI.

October 25, 2020
Rohit’s injury cloud means he isn’t picked in any of India’s squads for the tour of Australia. Many fans on social media baselessly call Rohit’s exclusion a conspiracy by Virat Kohli.

October 26, 2020
Following the BCCI announcing the Indian squads to travel to Australia, Mumbai Indians release a video on their social media platforms of Rohit batting in the nets.

November 1, 2020
India men’s head coach Ravi Shastri urges Rohit not to rush himself back into cricket, warning that he could re-injure the same hamstring if he rushes his recovery. Shastri cites his own career and how his playing career was cut short due to his eagerness to play cricket rather than bide his time with injuries.

November 3, 2020
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly says Rohit’s hamstring could rupture and take longer to heal than expected. A few hours later, Rohit stepped out to lead MI in their last IPL league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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November 9, 2020
The BCCI selectors add back Rohit Sharma into the Test squad for the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar trophy.

November 11, 2020
After leading MI to their fifth IPL trophy, Rohit flies to India while the rest of the Indian touring party leave Dubai for on a chartered flight to Sydney.

November 13, 2020
Ganguly states that Rohit is still only 70 per cent fit when asked about Rohit’s fitness.

India's Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma (Photo: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images)

November 19, 2020
Rohit arrives at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for rehab.

November 21, 2020
Rohit states his hamstring is fine, but feels work is still left to be done before he flies out to Australia.

November 24, 2020
Ravi Shastri states that it’ll be difficult for Rohit to be involved unless he departs for Australia within the next four to five days.

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November 26, 2020
ESPN Cricinfo reports that Rohit has been ruled out for India’s first two Tests against Australia.

Considering Mumbai Indians were doing so well alongside the fact that a big Test series was coming up, why did Rohit Sharma decide to play in the IPL when he wasn’t fully fit? I can clearly remember him struggling to field or run between the wickets properly in the latter stages of the IPL.

Ravi Shastri may be a man who’s divided Indian fans for his statements in the past, but Rohit should’ve listened to him considering Shastri knows the pain of rushing back from injuries.

For Rohit Sharma to have played in the IPL when he wasn’t fully fit was nothing but recklessness.

While the BCCI have some questions to answer such as why wasn’t Rohit on the flight to Australia and monitored by the BCCI medical staff, Rohit has to hold himself accountable here.

Rohit isn’t a 20 year old who’s trying to establish himself in international cricket. He’s a veteran of the Indian side with over 12 years of experience in international cricket. If Rohit was serious about Test cricket, he would’ve skipped the rest of IPL in a bid to be 100 per cent fit for the Test series against Australia.

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Instead, he’s been a careless man who’s given the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill a golden chance to overtake him as India’s Test opener to partner Mayank Agarwal.

Is Rohit Sharma’s Test career over? Considering his injury woes in the past 12 months alongside his carelessness during IPL 2020, it probably is.

While no one can take away Rohit’s credentials in ODIs and T20 internationals, his reputation as a Test batsman will be tarnished for stupid decisions such as this.

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